OK, bored at work again - interesting Wiki article on Hair Bands...
Origins (1970s)
The glam metal visual style was heavily influenced by 1970s glam rock, hard rock, and heavy metal acts. Stephen Davis claims the influences of the style can be traced back to acts like Aerosmith, Kiss, Boston, Cheap Trick, and The New York Dolls. The shock rock style of such acts as Alice Cooper would also serve as a major influence on the genre. Hanoi Rocks have been credited for setting a blueprint for hair metal. Ted Nugent has been cited as a seminal influence on the hair metal movement. Angel provided a, "virtual spot-on blueprint for '80s hair metal."
In the United States, many fans credited that the movement on the Sunset Strip was kick-started largely by Van Halen. Other early groups were Mötley Crüe and Nikki Sixx's former band London who originally formed as a glam rock band. Others assert that it was kick-started by Quiet Riot's Metal Health album when it reached #1 in the Billboard music charts in 1983. These bands played a prominent part in the overall look and would go on to influence a lot of the bands who formed from the mid-1980s onwards. During 1980 in England, one year prior to Mötley Crüe's formation, Wrathchild, fronted by Rocky Shades, also emerged. This band was also known for its similar image; they also used various pyrotechnics similar to that of shock rock and would eventually tour with Los Angeles heavy metal band W.A.S.P. in 1984. However, Wrathchild did not gain the same level of fame as their Los Angeles contemporaries.
First wave (1981–83)
During the early 1980s glam metal became extremely popular. The first wave of glam metal bands included Quiet Riot, W.A.S.P., Twisted Sister, Mötley Crüe, Dokken, Ratt and Black 'n Blue. Their music was a traditional heavy metal style combined with a glam rock look. The younger contemporaries who would eventually emerge during the second wave, like Stryper, Poison, Cinderella, Warrant and Slaughter, had a pop rock influenced hard rock musical style that ultimately became synonymous with the glam metal look.
Second wave (1984–91)
By the mid-1980s, glam metal had reached huge mainstream success. Los Angeles continued to foster the most important scene around the Sunset Strip. This movement eventually spawned bands such as Poison, Warrant, Autograph, Faster Pussycat, L.A. Guns and London (which reformed in 1985).
Other bands were associated with that scene's style but actually came from outside of Hollywood. Among these are Cinderella and Britny Fox, which were both from Philadelphia, Winger and Danger Danger, which were both from New York, Slaughter, which was from Las Vegas, FireHouse, which was from North Carolina, Roxx Gang, which was from Florida and Dangerous Toys, which was from Austin. Stryper, founded in 1983 in Orange County, California, became most successful in 1986 with their platinum album To Hell with the Devil and brought Christian lyrics to their hard rock music style and glam metal looks. Heavy metal band Skid Row, founded in 1986 in New Jersey, rose to success in 1989 with their eponymous debut album. Their style shared both musical and visual elements with glam metal, though the band always kept a heavier sound if compared to classic glam metal acts like Poison or Warrant. Californian Anarcho-punk/death rock band TSOL and Canadian heavy metal band Helix also shifted towards glam metal during this period.
Swedish band Europe reached international success with their 1986 multi-platinum album The Final Countdown, whose single "The Final Countdown" hit number one in 26 countries.
In 1985 Guns N' Roses were formed from an initial fusion of L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. In 1986 L.A. Guns reformed becoming a successful hard rock/glam metal band, whereas Guns N' Roses only kept some visual elements from glam metal and based their style on hard rock, rejecting the typical pop metal sound and incorporating heavy metal influences.
Since glam metal was an entirely visual aspect rather than a unique musical style it became appealing to music television, particularly MTV when it was launched. During the mid-to-late 1980s, glam metal bands were in heavy rotation on the channel. Glam metal bands often resided at the top of MTV's daily dial countdown, and some of the bands appeared on the channel's shows such as Headbanger's Ball.
The groups also received heavy rotation on radio shows such as KNAC in Los Angeles. The second wave of glam metal would prove to be the most commercially successful during the 1980s despite mostly negative critical reviews and being shunned by certain sections of the music industry.
A notable example came in 1987 with the release of Mötley Crüe's Girls, Girls, Girls. Before the establishment of Soundscan in 1991, Billboard's album chart was decided by a combination of reports from retailers, wholesalers, and industry professionals, rather than on actual album sales. As the band related on MTV's Week in Rock, the week that Girls, Girls, Girls peaked at #2 on the Billboard chart, it was actually the highest-selling album of that week. However, the industry professionals gave extra weight to Whitney Houston's second album, allowing it to retain the top spot. In the band's opinion, the industry simply wouldn’t allow their album to hold the #1 spot. (The band eventually conquered the top spot with their next album, Dr. Feelgood, which became the biggest album of their career.)
Glam metal bands continued to generate hits throughout all the 1980s. Poison's second album Open Up and Say...Ahh! spawned a hit single in Every Rose Has Its Thorn, and eventually sold eight million copies worldwide[9].
Decline (1991–97)
In the early 1990s glam metal's popularity rapidly declined after nearly a decade of success. Several music writers and musicians began to deride glam metal acts as "hair farmers," hinting at the soon to be popularized term hair metal. Several factors played a role in the decline, the main one being the rise of grunge music from Seattle, changing audience tastes, little or no support, lack of new contracts and the impacts of band breakups and personnel changes.
In the early 1990s, bands from the alternative rock subgenre grunge, including Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden started supplanting glam metal's popularity. Although grunge was influenced by heavy metal, it also mixed in elements of hardcore punk and indie rock, such as introspective or angst-filled lyrics, a stripped-down aesthetic and a complete rejection of the glam metal visual style and performance. Many major labels felt they had been caught off-guard by the surprise success of Nirvana's Nevermind, and had begun turning over their personnel in favor of younger staffers more versed in grunge. As MTV shifted its attention to the new style, glam metal bands found themselves relegated more and more often to Headbanger's Ball and late night airplay, and almost entirely disappeared from the channel by early 1994. Given glam metal's lack of a major format presence on radio, bands were left without a clear way to reach their audience. Other non-grunge bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Nine Inch Nails also helped supplant the popularity of hair metal even further.
Another reason for the decline in popularity of the style may have been the changing popularity of the power ballad, a slow, emotional song that gradually builds to a strong finale. While the use of the power ballad — especially after a hard-rocking anthem — was initially a successful formula in the late 1980s, audiences eventually lost interest in this approach. Contracts were canceled, and many bands broke up. From late 1991 to early 1992, Stryper, White Lion, Europe, and Britny Fox all broke up. Vince Neil was briefly fired from Mötley Crüe, guitarist Robbin Crosby left Ratt (who then broke up with the departure of lead singer Stephen Pearcy), and C.C. DeVille left Poison.According to a documentary special called Heavy: The Story of Metal that aired on VH1 in 2006 claimed that the 1988 film The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years played a role in the death of glam metal, claiming that it disgusted audiences with its exposure of the excesses of the glam metal scene, particularly the scene that interviews W.A.S.P. guitarist Chris Holmes abusing vodka while on an inflatable raft in a swimming pool.
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